Protection
by loveroftheodds
Summary: Takes place in 1985-Elliot and Olivia are best friends in high school. But what happens when they start to develop deeper feelings for each other?


**Hey guys! I'm back with my second fic!**

 **This takes place in 1985, and Elliot and Olivia both are 17 years old. This will be AU cause in the show, he is one year older, but for the story its fitting to make them the same age. There will be some OC but I've been thinking of this story for awhile.**

 **Also, I know Elliot grew up in Queens and Olivia in Manhattan, but I thought I would just make this story take place in Brooklyn.**

 **Hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 1: A Friend in Me

He was waiting at their usual meet up spot before they headed off to their classes, in front of their lockers, when he saw her approaching with a slump in her shoulders and her head bowed, as if ashamed or embarrassed. Olivia Benson was his best friend since they were seven years old, meeting on the playground at PS 205.

He knew everything about her, especially the rocky relationship she had with her mother that seemed to escalate in violence and in hatred for every year that passed. He continuously tried to help her escape, but despite their tumultuous relationship, Serena was her mother after all. He was awaken from his thoughts as she approached, looking up when she secluded herself from everyone else and came close to him without even greeting him.

"Liv, what's wrong?" Elliot knew that something had happened with her mom. It always does. Besides their issues, Olivia had nothing else to be sad about; she was a great kid. Straight A's, apart of every club, though abstaining from sports, and she was the most beautiful girl in the world. At least in his eyes.

"Can we go somewhere more private?" She asked quietly, making him extremely worried, but before he could get a word out, she dragged him to the nearest bathroom, where he protested.

"Liv, this is the girls' bathroom, if I'm caught in here, i'll get in trouble-"

"El, its before school anyway and no one will say anything. You asked what happened but I don't want to say it where other people can here."

"Serena?" All he needed to ask consisted of one word at which she nodded fervently, and within a blink of an eye, she whipped her shirt off, leaving her in just a bra and jeans, all while making him blush furiously.

He was about to tell her to put her shirt back on, trying to get her to not notice his blushed state, but something caught his eye at the top of her clavicle, and he just about lost his mind.

"Olivia, is she fucking hitting you again?"

...

He couldn't believe his eyes, a large cut from the top of her clavicle to the top of her breast marred that beautiful tan skin he always admired. He swore that the next time he saw Serena, he was going to beat the shit out of her. Kill her. No one touches his Olivia.

His Olivia. Well, in actuality, she's not. Olivia had been dating Danny Greco, a senior, for about six months now, and much to his sadness, they were going strong. He knew from when they were very little that he had stronger feelings for her, always had the need to protect her, and even though they were best friends, he couldn't help but think that those jobs should be reserved to Danny, the guy lucky enough to love Olivia.

"El, I know it's really bad, but maybe I deserved it. I... I invited Danny over last night because she told me she wasn't going to be home, and she.. she-" she couldn't finish her sentence without red creeping up her neck and blossoming on her face.

"She walked in on you two having sex?" Elliot filled in, but he knew he was wrong when he saw Olivia's eyes pop out of her head like what he said was totally blasphemous. He knew Olivia was his best friend, his whole entire life, and he would beat the shit out of anyone who even thought of calling her a slut or a whore, but she wasn't completely innocent. While he was still a virgin, limited to minimal kissing and hook-ups in the past, she had sex before with a previous boyfriend, leading him to believe she had done the same with Danny.

"No, no, El, we were just making out and he was touching me. But, Danny and I haven't even done it yet." At that he visibly relaxed.

"Liv, just because you were kissing your boyfriend doesn't give her the right to fucking slash you."

At that statement, her eyes filled with tears that didn't even threaten to fall, they just raced down her cheeks. When he saw that, he ran to her and enveloped her into his muscular arms, snuggling her up in his warmth. She found comfort in the crook of his neck as he listened to the rhythm of her heartbeat before he spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Liv. I didn't mean to be so harsh, but you know how it hurts me when you hurt."

She didn't respond verbally, just cuddled harder into his embrace. He knew that while she had a boyfriend, and they had never dated or delved deeper into their romantic relationship, there were feelings there. They were each others first kisses. When rumors started going around freshmen year about two friends being caught making out, they decided to try it out. At least if it turned out bad, they were still best friends. She knew he was turned on, to say the least, after he shifted uncomfortably for a good hour after they stopped. She had even got heated after it.

The truth is, although there were feelings there, he felt she saw him as nothing more than a best friend and shoulder to cry on. He wished she would just see their chemistry more, but now that she was dating Danny, he had pretty much given up hope. As her tears subsided, she seemed to hang on to him. Although he wasn't complaining, he knew that he had to end it before he melted for her even more.

Against his greatest wishes, only one thought appeared in his mind after he realized he was lusting after someone who didn't even want him.

 _I have to let her go._

 _..._

Trying to save Olivia from the wrath of her mother that she would face when they both got home, Elliot decided that she would come over after school and have dinner with their family. Elliot was one of four; he had two sisters, Julia and Emily, and a brother, Thomas. His mother, Bernie, went nuts for Olivia and practically pleaded for her to come over more frequently. His dad, Joe, on the other hand, was a little skeptical about her.

Elliot knew his dad was questioning Olivia's authenticity based on fights they have gotten into and her rare emotional behavior, but he knows that if he were to tell Joe the truth, that Olivia's parents were practically monsters, he knew he would change his mind. Or rather the explanation would make sense. But he would never betray Olivia's trust like that.

They were hanging out in his room after doing some homework and eating a snack and talking with Bernie. They went up to his room where Bernie winked at Elliot, silently urging her son to make a move sooner or later.

"Liv, why don't you head on up? I just need to talk to my mom real quick." Olivia nodded and ran up the steps, ready to pick a movie to watch. When he saw her reach the hallway upstairs, he turned to Bernie.

"Ma, she has a boyfriend, I can't make a move on her, plus she's my best friend and I promise you the feelings aren't reciprocated-"

"Elliot, I've been watching you two for ten years, and I know feelings when I see them, honey. You may not see it, but she lights up whenever you're around. Think about that."

"Whatever, Mom," he said dejectedly as he slouched up the steps. He wasn't mad at his mom, but rather the fact that Olivia was happy with Danny and most definitely didn't feel a thing for him. He shook those thoughts out of his head and walked into his room, his eyes widening and his belly fluttering at the sight before him.

Olivia had changed into a pair of his plain grey sweatpants and a navy blue NYPD long sleeve courtesy of his dad's precinct. Pretty much every piece of skin was covered, but he had never found anything or anyone sexier in his entire life.

She, Olivia Benson, his best friend and love of his life, was wearing his clothes.

He knew it was some sort of novelty for a guy to be attracted to a girl wearing his clothes, but this was way past lust and attraction. His heart was swelling at the image before him. Images of their future together, cuddling up together, married, with children, flashed through his mind in the time it took for her to look up at him and smile. She sat up on his bed and pointed at the array of movies in front of her.

"We have Rocky, Saturday Night Fever, Godfather I and II, the Outsiders, and the Breakfast Club. Which one do you want to watch?" As she beamed up at him, he still couldn't tear his eyes off of her. Here she was in all of her glory, laying in his clothes, buried in the sheets of the bed he wishes he could share with her. Not for sex, but to lay with every night and morning, to listen to her breathing and her heartbeat.

 _Way to go all soft, Stabler,_ he thought to himself. Only Olivia fucking Benson could do this to him. He shook his head when he noticed she was about to call him out on not focusing on the matter at hand.

"Seriously, Liv? Breakfast Club? The Outsiders? I'm not watching those..."

"El, it's not that bad, and plus, Rob Lowe is quite the vision," Olivia added as she dramatically sighed and looked up towards the sky.

"Yeah, Liv, all I hear from every girl in our school is how his baby blues can get him into any girls pants." He added with a chuckle.

"Well, I can't say I don't agree!" At that they both laughed, and Olivia blushed. As he sat down on the corner of his bed, she moved all of the tapes to the side, leaving one on the bed. _The Breakfast Club._

"There's something about Judd Nelson's bad boy persona in this movie that just gets to me."

He laughs, and pushes her wordlessly, trying to make room for himself. As she moves, he sees she smuggled in popcorn and bags of candy to eat while watching a movie he definitely didn't want to watch, but would endure it if it meant cuddling up next to her.

"Ahh, there's something about you and the bad boys, Liv."

"Yup. Hence, me dating Danny Greco..." she chuckled quietly at that, while he gave her a small smile, but not overexerting himself in being fake and trying to laugh when he found no part of her dating another man humorous.

He cleared his throat to clear the tension. "Alright, Liv, I'll watch this movie with you, but I've had enough time in detention that I'm sure I won't even find it amusing.

...

Surprisingly, he was watching the movie and enjoying it. Olivia was talking the whole time, trying to explain stuff to him, raving about how pretty Molly Ringwald was, and how sexy of a bad boy John Bender was. Although he loved her, he couldn't even watch the movie.

"Liv," he started with a chuckle, "just let me watch the movie. You're talking so damn much!" At that she laughs and shocking Elliot, cuddles up into his side. She's on the left side of his bed, cuddle into that same side of his body, her hand resting lightly on his stomach, her head on his shoulder. At this situation, he could now die a happy man.

How many times have they been like this during their friendship and yet lately he had been feeling all types of things that made him nervous to be around her. As she burrowed herself into his warmth, he placed his left hand on the small of her back, rubbing up and down unconsciously.

The credits had rolled around and he looked down to see Olivia snoring lightly on his chest. Not wanting her to sleep for long and ruin her night's sleep later, he gently shook her, trying to rouse her from sleep.

He laughed lightly and his heart bursted when she started mumbling inaudibly and cuddled closer into his chest.

"Liv, honey, wake up. It's probably time for dinner and you don't want to sleep through my mom's famous london broil..."

"Okay, okay I'm up," she shot up when she heard the words "london broil". Although she be but 110 pounds, Olivia could eat. Another reason he loved his girl so much. She had an appetite and didn't care who was watching.

 _My girl, I gotta stop calling her that._

...

"So, Olivia," Bernies started as she cut into her peace of steak, "how's school doing for you, you smartypants?!"

At this Olivia laughed and Elliot couldn't help but smile over at her. He was proud that his best friend was one of the top students in the class.

"It's going really well, Bernie, I'm still stressed over school work, but what else is new," she added with a laugh. Everyone laughed lightly except Joe, who had been rigid since he got home. Elliot could tell something was up. Before he could ignore him, Olivia strikes up a conversation with his dad, or at least tries to.

"Joe, Elliot told me that-"

"Mr. Stabler, Olivia. You call me Mr. Stabler, not Joe. Mr. Stabler." Joe practically demanded in a low angry tone that startled everyone. Olivia looked down at her plate in embarrassment and then completed her thought.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stabler, but yeah, Elliot told me that you have the annual NYPD baseball game this Saturday and I thought we would come watch and support you. I haven't been to the game, in like, 5 years."

Joe grumbled, not really caring what anyone had to say tonight, especially the girl he had a weird feeling about. "Yeah, that's nice." Elliot looked towards Olivia, who bowed her head towards her plate and pushed her food around. He felt bad and wanted to reach out and hug her, but knew it was inappropriate. So he settled on putting a hand on her thigh and squeezing, reassuring her that there were no hard feelings. At least not for everyone else but Joe.

She knew that Joe didn't like her, for what reason she did not know. But that always prompted her to try to make small talk and be as genuine as possible. After all, Elliot was her best friend and she wanted nothing but to respect both him and his family.

After the silence remained, Bernie got up to collect the dishes, but was stopped by Olivia.

"Please, Bernie, let me do it. I'm the guest here and it's my pleasure." She smiled at Bernie, who surprisingly gave up the dishes.

"On a normal day, I would tell you to sit down and enjoy the night, but I have to admit I'm a little tired. Elliot, how about you and Olivia go wash the dishes?" At this he nodded and followed his friend into the kitchen, while they juggled the dishes.

They settled into a rhythm, soaping and lathering, rinsing and drying, when Elliot just felt the need to apologize.

"Liv, I'm sorry. I don't know what's up with him tonight."

Olivia looked up at him and smiled sadly, reflecting the pity and always worrying about everyone else. "It's okay, El. I know he doesn't like me to begin with but I just hoped that he would accept a conservation. I didn't mean to piss him off."

"Olivia, you did not piss him off. He was already in a mood and you did absolutely nothing wrong. If he wants to walk around with a stick up his ass, then that is his fault." At this they both laugh, knowing that while she had done nothing wrong to betray Joe's trust, she would have to accept his odd dislike for her.

After they finished the dishes, Elliot, Olivia and all of his siblings gathered on the couch to watch some television. Even Bernie joined them.

The sight of the family sitting on the couch, and Olivia there too, seemed to piss Joe off to no end, when he roared.

"Olivia, I think it's time for you to get going." When she heard her name she looked up sweetly, not ready for his completely unexpected wrath.

"Dad, what the hell? It's only eight o'clock. Olivia always stays here. What's your problem?" _Wrong thing to say buddy, wrong thing to say._

 _"_ Last time I checked, I owned this fucking house. I paid the fucking bills. If i want this girl out of my house, then she's going to leave." Nobody said anything as Elliot silently battled his father. He would usually never test his dad, but he couldn't understand what the fuck his problem was and if he was going to insult Olivia, he sure as hell was going to fight back.

"Elliot, I am not going to repeat myself. Get. Her. Out. Of. Here." At his dad's serious tone and the look in his mom's eyes, he looked towards Olivia, who had her head bowed towards the ground. He knew that she probably couldn't help the tears that flowed from her eyes, but when someone is ignoring your presence and ordering you out for no reason, he would feel the same. He sat down next to her and rubbed her arm and she looked up at Joe and nodded vigorously.

She stood up and grabbed her things, just to stand in front of Joe. She cleared her throat and looked him in the eye, trying to stop the tears from building in her eyes.

"I'm really sorry if I disrespected you in any way, Mr. Stabler. I'll be out of your hair." Before anyone could register the hiccup in her tone, Olivia took off towards the door, where she was undoubtedly trying to run the two blocks from his house to hers. He ran after her and grabbed her before she reached the door.

"Liv, wait, just let me drive you. Please," he silently pleaded with her. She nodded and opened the door, making her way to his car.

...

He pulled up to her apartment building and parked, looking over at her.

"Liv, you don't know how sorry I am. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with him." She was silent as she looked vaguely through the windshield. It was minutes before she spoke up.

"I was going to ask you to stay over tonight. I was afraid to go home to my mom tonight and what she would do to me, but never mind. That plan has gone to shit," she chuckled, the laugh devoid of all traces of humor.

"Liv, I don't fucking care what my dad thinks, if you are scared of your mother, you are staying with me and that's the end of the story. Period."

"No, Elliot, really I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow at school." Before he can say anything, she grabbed her belongings and ran to the door, hastily unlocking the door and making her way inside.

As he thought of what happened today, all he could think of was.

 _I will protect her until the day I die._

...

 **Phew. That was kinda long! Hope you enjoy. You'll learn more about Joe next chapter. Review pls:)**


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